ARchaeological Consultants CALIFORNIA 94110

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1 bolrnoida550ciate5 ARchaeological Consultants "SINCE THE BEGINNING" 361S FOLSOM ST. CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO, 41S/SSQ-7.2B(') Judy Shanley David J. Powers & Associates 1885 The Alameda San Jose, CA November 20 th, 2008 NOV L a,'\it.;. y",<:\.:" :~~~f: ;{- J'.2;,.-;'..:'rlTG.;';, ii~c. Dear Ms. Shanley RE: LOS ALTOS COMMUNITY CENTER MASTER PLAN CULTURAL RESOURCES STUDY, LOS ALTOS, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA On October 2 nd, 2008 I completed an archaeological field inspection ofthe above referenced project area located in Los Altos. No evidence ofprehistoric or historic archaeological resources was found either during the archaeological literature review or the field inspection. This report contains a summary ofinformation gained to date. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The proposed project area consists ofan under 20 acre irregularly shaped parcel ofland containing the Los Altos City Hall, Library, youth Center, Police station and other facilities including the History House and History Museum. Located on the Mountain View U.S.G.S. map, the borders ofthe property are San Antonio Road on the west, Housing on the north, the Recreation Center and housing on the east, and Hawthorne Way on the south. The building complexes are located in a setting which includes open fields and orchards. At the time ofthe field visit all ofthe open ground and the orchard ground had been disced to remove any weed covenng. ARCHIVAL RESEARCH An archaeological literature review was undertaken by this author in person at the Northwest Information Center (NWIC) located in Rohnert Park (File no ). The inventory has no historic or prehistoric sites located within the borders ofthe parcel or within a quarter mile of it. There also have been no formal archaeological field inspections ofthe project area, and none within a quarter mile radius.

2 The property does contain one recorded historic resource, the existing History House. A plaque near the stairs ofthe house explained that the house was built by Gilbert Smith, who bought the land in 1901, at which time he planted apricots. In 1931 he expanded the farm to 10 acres, which was bought by the City oflos Altos in Smith stayed on until his death in 1966; his wife Margaret died in In 1977 the house became the History Museum. The House and the original 5 acres of Apricots became an official Los Altos Historical Landmark in 1987, designated at "California Point ofhistorical Interest ScI-058). Currently the house stands alone next to the newly constructed history museum. DESCRIPTION OF FIELD INSPECTION A visual inspection ofall open ground inside the project area was undertaken by this author on October 2 nd, The open fields in front ofand behind City Hall and surrounding the police station and bordering the soccer field were inspected by walking 20 foot transects over all the open areas. Soils throughout the area consist ofa reddish brown clay loam with scant naturally occurring gravels ofbasalt and siltstone. The soils, disced to a consistency ofpowder, were inspected for any indicators ofaboriginal use typical to this part ofsanta Clara County: darker than surrounding soils containing stone, bone or fresh water shellfish, evidence offire (ash, charcoal, fire affected rock or soils), artifacts ofthese materials and any indications ofburials, either human or animal. The surface was also inspected for any evidence ofhistoric trash deposits which may have been created by the Smith family in the early 20 th century. Historic archaeological deposits can be found in the form offilled in wells and/or privy pits or in excavated trash pits. FINDINGS/RECOMMENDATIONS No evidence ofeither historic or prehistoric archaeological resources was found during the field inspection. Conditions for a field inspection were ideal-the ground inside the open spaces around the city buildings (partly covered with orchard) had been disced to remove all weed covering. It is evident from the uniformity ofthe soils viewed that this area has not been altered historically, and that ifany archaeological materials (prehistoric or historic) existed in the area, the history ofdiscing and plowing there would have brought examples ofthem to the surface. It is the opinion ofthis author that the project area is located in a zone oflow to moderate archaeological sensitivity; the nearest riparian zone (a favored Native American habitation area) is located approximately a mile to the east where Hale and Permanente Creeks merge and flow north to the bay. Adobe Creek, which runs along the foothills to the west approximately a half mile away, supported Native American habitation as it exited the hills to form the modem border 2

3 between Palo Alto and Los Altos, over two miles from the Community Center project area. Future development ofopen areas inside the project borders should have no effect on either historic or prehistoric cultural resources. This report does not recommend mechanical subsurface presence/absence testing to search for buried resources, and does not recommend archaeological monitoring of future construction related earthmoving activities. In the unlikely event that any ofthe cultural materials described in this report are uncovered, work should be halted within 50 feet ofthe discovery until a qualified archaeologist has been retained to inspect the discovery. Ifit is determined that additional earthmoving will affect a resource eligible for inclusion on the California Register ofhistoric Resources (CRHR), a plan for its evaluation should be submitted to the Los Altos Planning Department for approval. Evaluation is normally done through a limited program ofhand excavation to sample the archaeological deposit for significant materials and/or information. In the event that evaluative testing does demonstrate that the area contains a CRHR eligible resource, a plan for mitigation of impacts to it should be submitted to the Planning Department for approval before construction work is allowed to recommence in the zone designated as archaeologically sensitive. Mitigation can include additional data recovery through hand excavation coupled with archaeological monitoring inside the archaeological zone to insure that all significant archaeological information and material is retrieved for analysis. Monitoring also helps in the timely identification ofhuman burials, limiting damage to them. All human remains encountered must, by law, be carefully removed from impact areas and reburied at a location agreed to between the City and the designated Most Likely Descendant along with any associated grave goods. Sincerely, ~~~ Miley Paul Holman Holman & Associates 3

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